SAN JOSE (KCBS) – A woman suspected in a series of convenience store robberies and two other people, including a pregnant woman, were arrested in San Jose early Tuesday after a brief police chase, authorities said.

Investigators credited good, old-fashioned police work in finding the woman who they say was behind a number of 7-Eleven stores in the city’s Evergreen area.

“The suspect walks into the 7-Eleven, armed with a handgun. Has a mask, is wearing gloves, takes a small amount of cash and a bunch of lottery tickets and leaves,” San Jose Police Lt. Mike Sullivan told KCBS.

Police were alerted and officers quickly determined that the suspect in the early Tuesday morning heist, a woman, matched the description of a female robber suspected of hitting two 7-Eleven stores in the area roughly one month ago.

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An officer who had been assigned to those two earlier robberies initiated a stake-out of an apartment complex where a stolen vehicle connected to those first two robberies had previously been dumped.

“And sure enough,” Sullivan told KCBS, “about an hour and a half after tonight’s robbery, the suspect vehicle pulled in, and using a spotlight to see inside the vehicle (the officer) realized the driver matched the description to a “t” of tonight’s robbery and he tried to pull in behind the vehicle.”

The vehicle, a stolen BMW, sped off, with police giving chase. A short time later, the vehicle crashed into a tree at Silver Creek and Yerba Buena. Three people in the car, the suspected robber, a man, and a pregnant woman, were all taken into custody. None had suffered injuries in the crash.

Police said they found a mask, a gun and lottery tickets inside the BMW.

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